Powell arrives in Mideast for peace mission

Powell addresses a news conference in Alexandria, Egypt, on Wednesday

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday in an effort to push Israel and the Palestinian Authority beyond the current fragile cease-fire toward a formal "cooling-off" period.

Powell's first stop was Egypt, for a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"My mission on this trip is to do everything that I can to keep the process moving forward," Powell said at a news conference immediately following his arrival outside Alexandria. "I am anxious to see the level of violence go down. I am anxious to see a cooling-off period begin."

Talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders are set for Thursday.

ON THE SCENE Andrea Koppel: A preview of Powell's trip to the Middle East     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace     MORE STORIES Former Sen. Mitchell on Mideast, N. Ireland

On Tuesday, U.S. President George W. Bush urged patience with Middle East peace efforts, telling reporters progress would be made in "inches, not miles."

Bush met Tuesday afternoon with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, praising Sharon for his patience with the current, fragile cease-fire.

Sharon said he had a "very good and very friendly" meeting Tuesday with Bush, but insisted all violence must end before Israel resumes Mideast peace talks.

"I have said it very clearly: Israel will not negotiate under fire and under terror," Sharon said.

Going into the meeting, Bush acknowledged that "there's a level of frustration" among all parties because of continued violence in the region. "We also believe progress is being made," he said.

"I recognize progress is in inches, not in miles. But nevertheless, an inch is better than nothing," he said.

Sharon said after the meeting that an eight-week cooling-off period should start 10 days after a complete cessation of violence.

"When we see it has been 10 days of complete quiet and nothing really happens ... then we start the cooling-off period. Our demand is eight weeks and nothing less than six weeks." He added, "If that will happen, then we still start the confidence-building measures."

Sharon said Arafat has not done enough to end attacks on Israelis and has failed to order Palestinians to stop inciting violence. He said 14 people -- eight Palestinians and six Israelis -- have been killed since the current cease-fire took place 13 days ago.

"Can the parties do more? Absolutely," Bush said. "And that's what the secretary of state is going to do ... urge Mr. Arafat to do more, to take better control of his security forces. We're going to talk to the prime minister about his attitudes."

Sharon and Bush met Tuesday afternoon to discuss the fragile cease-fire

More than 500 people -- more than 400 Palestinians and more than 100 Israelis -- have been killed since the Palestinian uprising began in September.

Bush said he wanted both sides to move toward implementing the recommendations of last month's Mitchell Committee report. The panel, led by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, called for a cease-fire followed by a defined "cooling-off period" and confidence-building measures that eventually would lead to renewed peace talks.

Tuesday's meeting marked Sharon's second visit to the White House in the past three months. The administration has yet to extend an invitation to Arafat.

Outside the White House, a coalition of Arab-Americans and Muslim groups demonstrated against what they called a biased U.S. policy against the Palestinians.

Four protesters were arrested after taking their protest to the sidewalk in front of the White House, where demonstrators are not allowed, police said.